University of Hawai’i middle blocker Bri Gunderson has been named to the second team of The Big West 2025 Women’s Volleyball All-Conference Team. In total, five players from the Rainbow Wahine were recognized by the conference.
The Big West announced its postseason honors on Tuesday. Along with Gunderson’s second-team selection, setter Adrianna Arquette, libero Victoria Leyva, outside hitter Cha’lei Reid, and middle blocker Miliana Sylvester received honorable mention recognition. Additionally, Reid was chosen for the conference’s All-Freshman Team by league coaches.
Gunderson, in her only season with Hawai’i, led the team and ranked second in the conference with 115 total blocks and 1.16 blocks per set. She earned two Big West Defensive Player of the Week awards. Gunderson also achieved a team-best .300 hitting percentage for the season, placing ninth in the conference. She was second on her team with 234 kills (2.36 per set) and 311.5 points (3.15 per set). Gunderson recorded double-digit kills in 10 matches, including a high of 16 against Long Beach State in the regular-season finale, and hit .400 or better in eight matches.
Arquette completed her first season as a full-time setter ranking fourth in the Big West with 8.63 assists per set and collected two Big West Setter of the Week awards. The sophomore posted 10 double-doubles and two triple-doubles this season, becoming “the first UH player since 2018 to post double figures in kills, assists and digs in a match.”
Leyva took over as libero as a sophomore and led Hawai’i while ranking fifth in the Big West with an average of 4.14 digs per set; she also received a Big West Defensive Player of the Week honor. Leyva finished with a total of 435 digs—her average ranks fourth all-time at Hawai’i—and reached double-digit digs in 23 matches, including each of her last twelve games; she surpassed twenty digs seven times during the season. Leyva was also second on her team with 26 service aces.
Reid became just “the fourth freshman to lead the team in kills since 1981 and the first since 2019.” She ended eighth in the Big West for total kills (335) and ranked seventh for kills per set (3.35). Reid had ten or more kills in nineteen matches and recorded five double-doubles this season. She led The Big West with forty-four service aces—the most for Hawai’i since 2019—and averaged .44 aces per set to rank thirty-third nationally. She was named “Big West Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8” and won two Big West Freshman of the Week awards.
Sylvester added an honorable mention as a sophomore after making last year’s All-Freshman Team; she averaged 2.43 kills and .91 blocks per set while finishing second on her team and tenth in conference hitting percentage (.288). Sylvester tallied seven matches with at least ten kills this year and posted ten blocks against Texas State.
